I'm a vegan elitist snob.

Okay, so not really. But, kind of.

There are a lot of common misconceptions about vegans. We're skinny, malnourished, we don't enjoy food, we're picky, and we think we're better than omnivores.

None of that is true. Well, okay. Some of us are skinny, but that's often because skinny vegans would probably be skinny even if they ate meat.

It seems that the simple act of stating that I'm vegan is enough to put people on guard and make them feel judged by me. The train of thought usually goes, "Well, if you're vegan for ethical reasons, you think eating meat is wrong and bad. I eat meat, so you must think I'm wrong and bad." That's not true. I'm married to an omni. Granted, he rarely eats meat at all anymore because I cook all meals, and I don't buy non-vegan food. I don't think he's wrong or bad. I look at his meat-eating habits the way I look at smoking. Kind of a nasty habit, but I don't find people unlikeable because they participate in it. Let's be serious. If I was only friends with other vegans, I would have ONE friend in my city, and that'd be more of an acquaintance than a friendship.

Here's where the elitist snob part comes in. No, I don't judge or condemn, but I do think my diet rules all. I feel like it is the best possible way to eat (except for the days when I'm being a total junk food hound). I am healthy, I am happy, and I would never ever go back to eating the way I used to. And I am raising my daughter to be as vegan as possible. And I'm telling her exactly why we eat the way we do. I don't try to scare her with macabre details, but I'm very frank about where meat comes from and that animals have to die to produce a burger or chicken nugget.

I often struggle with thinking, "So and so is totally compassionate! How can they not equate this with cruelty and slavery and pain and suffering?" But at the end of the day, it doesn't change how I feel about people.

I checked out a book I've been wanting to read from the library. It's called "Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating", and it's by Erik Marcus. It goes through all the cases for veganism, starting with the health benefits, moving onto the animal rights part of it, and finally the environmental havoc that factory farming wreaks. Steve saw me reading it and said something to the effect of, "Why is every book you read about being vegan?" I told him that veganism is a big part of who I am, and he told me that it's not all I am. While that's true, I liken veganism to Christianity a little. Well, they have some parallels, anyway.

When my mom became a Christian, she was excited and wanted to share it with everyone. She wanted to share what she learned, what she believed, and I think a lot of new vegans are the same way. Just as an overzealous Christian can come off as preachy, so can an overzealous vegan. Also, my mom tries to show the world what she believes through her actions, and I do that every day as a vegan. Every time I buy a cruelty-free, animal byproduct-free item, I'm showing people what, essentially, I am all about, what I believe.

I love to talk to people about veganism. I love proving stereotypes wrong. I love sharing my food with people.

What I don't love are the debates I have to get into where no one wins. At the end of the day, I think the exploitation and consumption of animal products is wrong, and I won't be swayed. I hate how that sounds, but it's true. Yes, I believe there are exceptions, but no one is going to point to their eye teeth and say, "See, these are meant to tear meat apart" and have me chowing down on a ribeye with them.

I don't love the little stabs that people take at me. I don't love people turning their nose up at my lunch as if tofu or seitan or quinoa are unedible garbage.

I'm pretty sure everyone in my life thought this was a phase, initially. I'm pretty sure a lot of them were hoping it was a phase. But once I knew, I couldn't un-know.



The following video is of Neil Gaiman reading a short story called 'Baby Cakes':